Transmission fluid change.

I have a 2013 Toyota Tacoma with a AT. Dealership told me I had to do the fluid/flush at 80,000 miles on the transmission, seems a little late to change the fluid.

I’m at 75000 right now, what do you guys to think..?

should I have it flushed or just drain and fill it up ?

 

If it was mine I'd drop the pan, change the filter, clean tha magnets, fill it up, and run it, do that every 60k.

 

Interesting the dealership said change it at 80k. Toyota AT is supposed to be "lifetime" fluid.

I did my own drain and fill at 75k and then actually dropped the pan and changed the screen before refilling ay 150k. I'm coming up on 225k and will do another drain and fill.

It isn't hard to do yourself if you look up the directions on TW. The pain is getting it in temp check mode, but if you're patient you can do it.

I don't believe in the "lifetime" fluid deal and would do it between 75 and 100k depending on how hard you drive and if you tow anything. That's how I roll.

 

It's lifetime per environmental standards. If they advised an interval it would impact the footprint of the vehicle.

We recommend 5 years 60k. I personally do every 30k but I'm higher mileage.

 

Pretty much all manufactueres these days say their transmissions have "lifetime" fluid, in reality they aren't wrong. It will last the life of the transmission, what they don't tell you is what that lifetime is or that it will probably last longer if you service it.

 

Interesting they say lifetime..

I know there are two ways to do this. One is where they hook it up to a machine and it flushed out all the old fluid and they pump in clean fluid.

the other is what I can do in the garage. Where you basically drain it and fill it up.

what is the better route?

 

The screen is the filter correct?

 

Flushed mine at 90k will flush every 60k going forward will never remove the pan unless it’s leaking.

 

As @Bishop84 said it's more for EPA reasons and also so they can claim lower maintenance costs than anything else.

It's up to you but I prefer to do a pan drop, you get about half the fluid changed but if you do it regularly it keeps the fluid fresh.
If your transmission has any trash in it flushing (depending on the method they use) can stir it up and it can end up in the valves and solenoids causing issues.

 

The best way to do a full system flush at home is to drop the pan and clean the magnets.
Then follow the procedure in the link below. If you don’t have a trans cooler, then this won’t help.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/diy-full-flush-for-automatic-transmission.68462/

 

I do a drain+fill of 4qts every other year. Keeps the additive pack replenished.

 

I did mine in the heat of the day. Keep the new fluid in the same environment as the truck. When I put the new fluid in my pan temp reading was 97 degrees. I didn’t have to warm it up. Opened the level plug and about half a qrt came out.

You can also try measuring what comes out cold then refill the same amount. That should put you in same ball park.

 

It's considered lifetime because it isn't economically smart to ever change it. We aren't living in the 1950's anymore but some guys just can't wrap their heads around that. You can change it every 30,000 miles if you want to, but the transmission won't last any longer than the guys who never change it. By the time you get to 300,000 miles you've paid more to have it serviced than it will cost to rebuild it.

I've been driving 50 years, never changed transmission fluid in any vehicle. If the transmission goes bad in one of my vehicles today and has to be replaced, I'm way ahead financially.

 

Yes

 

Not trying to argue but I've seen you claim you can get a transmission rebuild for as little as $1,000 ..

A professionally rebuilt 4x4 transmission installed with a warranty is easily 4-6 grand these days. Not to mentioned the fact that by simply letting someone remove/replace the unit opens up the possibility for other damage along the way like stripped bolts, rusty exhaust parts that can break.. especially if you're shopping around for a cheap labor rate. There's no way a half dozen fluid exchanges is going to cost more than a reputable rebuild.

Transmissions simply don't fail as much as they used to back in the 90s. I'll happily service the fluid if it increases the chances of never having to replace the trans..

 

I personally like to change ATF and get all of the friction material floating around out of the system. Between heat cycles and friction material, changing ATF is the only thing you can do to keep an automatic alive.

b_r_o is spot on with his cost estimates. 15 years ago, an automatic transmission replacement for a Honda/Acura at the dealership I worked at was $5-$6k back then. To each his own.

 

It always interesting with the different ideas